Susan GrahamBacklash over 'Lolita' bed
February 3rd 2008 20:43
A campaign by mothers on the internet site Raising Kids.co.uk has resulted in a girls’ bedroom set named Lolita being withdrawn from sale. The reason? - "Lolita" is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov about a man who developed a sexual obsession with his 12-year-old stepdaughter. As a result the word "Lolita" has become slang for a sexually precocious young girl.
It is hardly an appropriate name for bed designed for 6 year old girls! However it seems the staff at Woolworths were completely unaware of this until they received the complaints and looked up the word Lolita on Wikipedia.
The news agency Reuters makes a very valid point on the issue:
The British school system must not be all this it's cracked up to be, if the techies who manage a Web site aren't familiar with the sexual connotation of the word "Lolita."
Is Western society producing a generation of young people who can program an iPod and create a Web site, but don't know the first thing about literature and art?
It is a great example of an internet chat forum influencing major retailers. Perhaps someone could do the same with the Bratz range!
Woolworth's Lolita Bed - now withdrawn from sale
It is hardly an appropriate name for bed designed for 6 year old girls! However it seems the staff at Woolworths were completely unaware of this until they received the complaints and looked up the word Lolita on Wikipedia.
The Film Adaptation of Lolita with Jeremy Irons
The news agency Reuters makes a very valid point on the issue:
The British school system must not be all this it's cracked up to be, if the techies who manage a Web site aren't familiar with the sexual connotation of the word "Lolita."
Is Western society producing a generation of young people who can program an iPod and create a Web site, but don't know the first thing about literature and art?
It is a great example of an internet chat forum influencing major retailers. Perhaps someone could do the same with the Bratz range!
Bratz Sketch
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Comment by Mrs M
Mum's Word
You've got to wonder, who came up with this name and why of all the names in the world they chose this one.
Marketing departments spend a lot of time and money when it comes to naming and promoting a product. I'd love to know why they decided on this name.
Love & stuff
Mrs M
Comment by Patricia 7
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Comment by Harry
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Comment by Patricia 7
Inside my Mind
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And you know what they say about publicity,"bad is better than none." Not in this case, though.